Emergency Preparedness With Diabetes: Two Rules

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Recently, I've had evacuees in my house—they were evacuated from one of the fires burning in California. It's made me think about how to help my patients prepare for their own evacuations should that happen.

We know that when patients are evacuated quickly, particularly if they are taking insulin, they can have a problem afterward getting insulin and the tools they need to manage their diabetes, which may set them back in their diabetes care for the next year or two. Here in California, policemen were literally knocking on doors and saying, "You need to get out now." You don't have a lot of time when this happens, so I want to make sure that everybody is prepared for disaster.

This is what I've told my patients. I have two basic rules. One is to prepare the absolute minimum amount you need to survive with any kind of diabetes that involves injections, particularly type 1 diabetes. The second is to prepare for a setting in which you might have a little bit more time and be able to carry a little bit more in terms of supplies.

Preparing for Immediate Disaster

For an immediate disaster, the patient needs to have insulin, strips, a meter, a little bit of simple carbohydrate, and a little bit of water at the ready.